Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Members Of The Jehovah's Witnesses During The Group's Annual
Convention At Chicago's Sox Park, A Baseball Field On The City's South
Side. The Umbrellas Are In Evidence To Shade The Participants From A
Hot July Sun: July 1973

A Young Black Man Showing His Muscle During A Small Community Program
In Chicago On The South Side. There Are Many Block Clubs And Community
Groups Organized To Help Youngsters "Do Their Thing" During
Special Weekend Programs In Empty Lots In The Black Communities. It
Helps Them To Develop Character And Belief In Their Abilities As Well
As Stressing A Positive Outlook On Life: August 1973

Black Youngsters Performing On An Empty Lot At 5440 South Princeton
Avenue On Chicago's South Side At A Small Community Program Called
"an Open Air Fashion And Talent Show" Presented By "the
New Between The Tracks Council", A Community Block Group. It Is
One Of Many Block Clubs And Community Groups Organized To Help
Youngsters "do Their Thing" During Special Weekend Programs
In Empty Lots In The Black Communities: August 1973

Black Community Older Housing On Chicago's West Side. This Area In
1973 Had Not Quite Recovered From The Riots And Fires During The Mid
And Late 1960's. According To The 1970 Census, 22 To 29% Of The
Residents Were Below The Poverty Level. Black West Side Businessmen
Formed An Organization, Funded By The Federal Government, Which
Resulted In Agreements With Major National Franchises And Resulted In
Some $20 Million In Jobs For Area Citizens By 1974: June 1973

Lake Meadows Apartment Complex On Chicago's South Side Inhabited 70%
By Blacks. They Attract Persons With Middle To Upper Income Brackets
($14,000 And Up). There Are 2,900 Apartments In 10 Buildings, Five
That Are 12 Stories High And Five That Are 27 Stories Tall. They Are
Located From 31st To 35th Street At Dr. Martin Luther King Drive. Of
Families Earning $10,000 To $25,000 In The Area In 1970 Some 35% Were
Black And 60% Were White: March 1974

Lake Meadows Shopping Center On Chicago's South Side Which Is
Frequented By Blacks. From 1960 To 1970 The Percentage Of Chicago
Blacks With An Income Of $7,000 Or More Jumped From 26 To 58%. Median
Black Income During The Period Increased From $4,700 To $7,883
Although The Gap Between What They And The Whites Received Actually
Widened: June 1973

Robert Taylor Homes, A Low Income Highrise Apartment Complex
Inhabited By Blacks On Chicago's South Side. There Are 28 Buildings
With 4,312 Apartments Housing 25,220 Persons. A Goal Of Many Residents
Is To Find A Job That Pays Enough For Them To Reach Middle Class
Status And Move. From 1960 To 1970 The Percentage Of Chicago Blacks
With An Income Of $7,000 Or More Jumped From 26 To 58%. In 1970 Blacks
Had A Median Income Of $7,883, But It Was $3,603 Less Than That For
Whites: June 1973

Black Residents On One Of The Balconies Of The Robert Taylor Homes, A
Low Income Highrise Apartment Building In Chicago. It Is A Complex Of
28 Buildings Located Between The 3900 And 5400 Blocks On State Street
With 4,312 Apartments Housing 25,220 Persons. A Goal Of Many Residents
Is To Find A Job That Pays Enough For Them To Reach Middle Class
Status And Move. Median Black Income From 1960 To 1970 Increased From
$4,700 To $7,883 But Was Still $3,603 Below Median White Income: June 1973

Stateway Gardens Highrise Housing Project On Chicago's South Side.
The Complex Has Eight Buildings With 1,633 Two And Three Bedroom
Apartments Housing 6,825 Persons. They Were Built Under The U.s.
Housing Acts Of 1949 And 1968. They Are Managed By The Chicago Housing
Authority Which Is Responsible For 41,500 Public Housing Dwellings.
Chicago's Middle Class Blacks Live On The South Side, West Side And
Near North Side In Highrise Apartments Along The Lake And In The
Suburban Ring: May1973

Black Children Play Outside The Ida B. Wells Homes, One Of Chicago's
Oldest Housing Projects. There Are 1,652 Apartments Housing 5,920
Persons In 124 Buildings On The South Side. Many Buildings In This
Part Of The City Have Been Systematically Vacated For Various Reasons.
Even Though Many Are Salvageable, They Are Razed And Replaced With
High Rent Highrises Which Have Little Or No Appeal To The Area's
Previous Residents: May 1973

A Black Man Who is Jobless Sits on the Windowsill of a Building in a
High Crime Area on Chicago's South Side, He Has Nothing to Do and
Nowhere to Go, This Scene Contrasts with the Publications Which List
the City as the Black Business Mecca Of The World, in Early 1975 Some
16% of Blacks were Believed to be Out of Work Double the Rate of White
Unemployment, Black Owned Businesses in Chicago in 1970 Grossed $332
Million from 8,750 Businesses: July 1973

Black Men At The Entrance To A Pool Hall Where They Hang Around
Daily, Located On Roosevelt Road In The Heart Of The Ghetto On
Chicago's West Side. The 1970 Census Reported 22 To 29% Of The Area's
Residents Were Below The Poverty Level. Helped By The Federal
Government, A Local Organization Signed Agreements With Major National
Franchises That Resulted In $20 Million In Jobs For Residents. In 1973
The West Side Had Not Yet Recovered From Earlier Riots And Fires: June 1973

Once One Of Chicago's Busy Thoroughfares, 63rd Street Has Changed
With The Character Of The City. Many Fires Have Resulted Driving Out
More Businesses Which Either Follow The Flight Of Other Stores To More
Prosperous Areas Or Cease To Exist. The "El" (elevated
Train) Tracks Are Seen In The Upper Portion Of The Picture. During
1973 The Chicago Transit Authority Reported 95,160,535 Passengers Used
The Facilities: July 197373

Empty Housing In The Ghetto On Chicago's South Side Structures Such
As This Have Been Systematically Vacated As A Result Of Fires,
Vandalism Or Failure By Owners To Provide Basic Tenant Services. Then
The Vacated Buildings, Often Substantially Salvageable, Are Razed And
Replaced With Highrise Apartments Which Appeal To Few Members Of The
Black Community And Almost None Of The Area's Previous Residents: May 1973

Black Family Count Their Cash In Their Apartment In South Side
Chicago. From 1960 To 1970 The Percentage Of Chicago Blacks With An
Income Of $7,000 Or More Jumped From 26 To 58%. Median Black Income
During The Period Increased From $4,700 To $7,883. But The Median
Income Of Whites Increased Even More And Widened The Gap From $3,251
In 1960 To $3,603 In 1970: June1973

Black Neighbors Outside On Chicago's West Side. They Are Part Of The
Nearly 1.2 Million People Of Their Race Who Make Up More Than One
Third Of Chicago's Population. The West Side Was Hard Hit By Riots And
Fires In The Mid And Late 1960's. The 1970 Census Noted That 22 To 29%
Of The Area's Residents Lived Below The Official Poverty Level. Black
Businessmen Reached Agreements With National Franchises Which Resulted
In Pumping $20 Million In Jobs For Residents By 1974: June 1973

Black Neighborhood On Chicago's West Side. The West Side Was Hard Hit
By Riots And Fires In The Mid And Late 1960's. The 1970 Census Noted
That 22 To 29% Of The Area's Residents Lived Below The Official
Poverty Level. Black Businessmen, Helped By Federal Funding Reached
Agreements With National Franchises Which Resulted In Pumping $20
Million In Jobs For Residents By 1974: June 1973

Black Community Older Housing On Chicago's West Side. This Area In
1973 Had Not Quite Recovered From The Riots And Fires During The Mid
And Late 1960's. According To The 1970 Census, 22 To 29% Of The
Residents Were Below The Poverty Level. Black West Side Businessmen
Formed An Organization, Funded By The Federal Government, Which
Resulted In Agreements With Major National Franchises And Resulted In
Some $20 Million In Jobs For Area Citizens By 1974: June 1973

Older Housing In The Black Community On Chicago's West Side This Area
In 1973 Had Not Quite Recovered From The Riots And Fires During The
Mid To Late 1960's. According To The 1970 Census, 22 To 29% Of The
Residents Were Below The Poverty Level. Black West Side Businessmen
Formed An Organization, Funded By The Federal Government, Which
Resulted In Agreements With Major National Franchises And Resulted In
Some $20 Million In Jobs For Area Citizens By 1974: June 1973

Street Scene In West Side Chicago. This Area Was Slow To Recover From
The Riots And Fires Of The Mid And Late 1960's According To The 1970
Census, Some 22 To 29% Of The Area's Residents Were Below The Poverty
Level. Then A Group Of Black Businessmen Formed The Garfield
Organization Industrial And Commercial Association. With Federal Help
They Reached Agreements With Several National Franchises That Resulted
In Jobs For Area Residents That Totalled $20 Million By 1974: June 1973

: South Side Black Community In Chicago With Small Businesses And
Apartments Over The Stores In The Older Buildings Near 43rd And
Indiana Avenue. Chicago Area Census Figures Show A Significant Gap In
Economic Security Between Blacks And Whites. Only 35% Of Black
Families Earned $10,000 To $25,000 In 1970 Compared To 60% For Whites.
Of Families Earning Less Than $8,000 Some 50% Were Black And 21% White
The 1970 Median Black Income In Chicago Was 65% Of White Families: June 1973

Street Scene On 47th Street In South Side Chicago, A Busy Area Where
Many Small Black Businesses Are Located. Many Of The City's Black
Business Owners Started With Small Operations And Grew By Working
Hard. Today Chicago Is Believed To Be The Black Business Capital Of
The United States. Census Figures In 1970 Noted That 8,747 Black Owned
Businesses Were In Operation In Chicago And Grossed More Then $332
Million: June 1973

Street Scene On 47th Street In South Side Chicago, A Busy Area Where
Many Small Black Businesses Are Located. Many Of The City's Black
Business Owners Started With Small Operations And Grew By Working
Hard. Today Chicago Is Believed To Be The Black Business Capital Of
The United States. Census Figures In 1970 Noted That 8,747 Black Owned
Businesses Were In Operation In Chicago And Grossed More Then $332
Million: June 1973

Street Scene On 47th Street In South Side Chicago, A Busy Area Where
Many Small Black Businesses Are Located. Many Of The City's Black
Business Owners Started With Small Operations And Grew By Working
Hard. Today Chicago Is Believed To Be The Black Business Capital Of
The United States. Census Figures In 1970 Noted That 8,747 Black Owned
Businesses Were In Operation In Chicago And Grossed More Then $332
Million: June 1973

Chicago Ghetto On The South Side. Although The Percentage Of Chicago
Blacks Making $7,000 Or More Jumped From 26 To 58% Between 1960 And
1970, A Large Percentage Still Remained Unemployed. The Black
Unemployment Rate Generally Is Assumed To Be Twice That Of The
National Unemployment Rate Published Monthly By The Bureau Of Labor
Statistics: May 1974

South Side Black Workers Passing The Time Playing Checkers On East
35th Street Before Going To Work In Chicago. The City Census Figures
Show A Significant Gap In Economic Security Between Blacks And Whites.
Median Black Income Between 1960 And 1970 Increased From $4,700 To
$7,883 But The Dollar Gap Between The Two Races Widened. Blacks Were
Receiving The Average Of $3,603 Less Than The Median White Family: May 1973

Ghetto Street Scene In Chicago On The South Side. The City Census
Figures Show A Significant Gap In Economic Security Between Blacks And
Whites. Of Families Earning $10,000 To $25,000 In 1970, 35% Were Black
And 60% White. Of Families Earning Less Than $8,000 Some 50% Were
Black And 21% White. In 1970 Median Black Income In Chicago Was 65%
That Of White Families, An Improvement Of 5% In 20 Years, But An
Actual Widening Of The Dollar Gap: July 1973Black Man Operating A Newsstand In Chicago On The West Side The City
Is Believed To Be The Black Business Capital Of The United States.
Census Figures Show In 1970 There Were 8,747 Black Owned Businesses In
The City That Grossed More Than $332 Million. But Black Capitalists
Still Have More Trouble Staying In Business Once They Begin And The
Main Reason Remains Racial Prejudice. Lack Of Capital Lack Of Business
Expertise And Lack Of Support From The Black Community Are Other
Factors: June 1973

Black Owned Business On Chicago's South Side. The City Is Believed To
Be The Black Business Capital Of The United States Census Figures For
1970 Showed There Were 8,747 Black Owned Businesses In The City That
Grossed More Than $332 Million. In 1972 There Were 11 Black Owned
Financial Institutions That Totaled Assets Of $254.9 Million. Black
Enterprises Magazine Reported In 1973 That Chicago Had 14 Of The Top
100 Black Owned Businesses, One More Than New York: June 1973

Sidewalk Merchandise On Chicago's South Side. Many Of The City's
Black Businessmen Started Small And Grew By Working Hard Today Chicago
Is Believed To Be The Black Business Capital Of The United States.
Black Enterprises Magazine Reported In 1973 That The City Had 14 Of
The Top 100 Black Owned Businesses In The Country, One More Than New
York City: June 1973

Graffiti On A Wall In Chicago. Such Writing Has Advanced And Become
An Art Form, Particularly In Metropolitan Areas. Black Artists Also
Have Used Walls On Buildings In Black Communities In Chicago To Paint
Outdoor Murals. They Feel It Is A Means Of Sharing Art With People In
The Ghetto Who Don't Go To The Museums. The Artists Also Have Given
Painting Lessons To Community Groups By Decorating Walls On Some
Buildings In Their Communities: May 1973

Black Muslim Women Dressed In White Applaud Elijah Muhammad During
The Delivery Of His Annual Savior's Day Message In Chicago. The City
Is Headquarters For The Black Muslims. Their $75 Million Empire
Includes A Mosque, Newspaper, University Restaurants, Real Estate,
Bank And Variety Of Retail Stores. (Muhammad Died February 25, 1975): March 1974

A Portion Of A Crowd Of Some 10,000 Muslims Applaud Elijah Muhammad
During The Delivery Of His Annual Savior's Day Message In Chicago. The
City Is Headquarters For The Black Muslims. Their $75 Million Empire
Includes A Mosque, Newspaper, University Restaurants, Real Estate,
Bank And Variety Of Retail Stores. Muhammad Died February 25, 1975:
March 1974

World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali, A Black Muslim,
Attends The Sect's Service To Hear Elijah Muhammad Deliver The Annual
Savior's Day Message In Chicago. The City Is Headquarters For The
Black Muslims. Their $75 Million Empire Includes A Mosque Newspaper,
University, Restaurants, Real Estate, Bank And Variety Of Retail
Stores. (The Muslim Leader Died February 25, 1975): March 1974

9 comments:

John White is also a teacher of the discipline he has long practised -- photojournalism, or PJ Love as he likes to call it.

A 1947 urban redevelopment plan projected to transform the "Bronzeville" ghetto areas of the South and Near West Sides of Chicago ultimately produced the desolate strip of concrete wastelands seen in an early stretch of John White's photos here. The outcome of the implementation of the plan, by the early 1970s, was the wholesale demolition of large swaths of variably run-down older brick-and-wood neighborhoods, passages of what sociologists call "scattered poverty", and their replacement by pockets of "concentrated poverty", bleak tracts of half-deserted highrises, broken glass, grit and crime sprawled across the ruins of the former communities. The end-of-the-world victory landscape envisioned and brought into barren reality by the developers, architects and city planners can be observed in some of the pictures here. For the people seen in John White's remarkable pictures from the early Seventies, this, then, was the life there was to live.

I could look at those pictures for hours, and it would not be enough to extract all the history and stories they contain. Wonderful post, Tom. iPhone photography, oh that is so sad.The plans to move scattered poverty to concentrated poverty are still going on in some big cities I think. I am thinking about Paris among others, and the rich Stockholm who officially wants a city centre free of.. whatever it is that is disturbing.. and move all this to the suburbs where no one but the people involved can see it. The solution of the problem is the vanishing...

The "news" that cameras are being "replaced" by iphones comes as a blow that takes away one's breath. At first.

It's that increasingly familiar feeling, these days. While we were looking the other way (Eyes Wide Shut), the enemy has taken over.

Not our world anymore but the world of the bots in suits who are farming us for their own interests... Oh, and of course, for the data-harvesting interests of the total-surveillance state.

(Is there really any conflict there? Is there a difference between the corporations and the Mega-State any more?)

In one of several heartbreaking interviews given in the days when he was still reeling from this shock, John White said, on the issue of the replacement of photographers by iphone-wielding bots in pants:

A high school friend of mine was just laid off from her job as an in-house photographer at a Boston-area university, along with the rest of the photography staff. It seems especially unfair that it happened now, as some of the excellent photos she took of the campus' reaction to the Boston bombings were picked up by the news wires and used in papers nationwide.